


You're My Home

by Snabulous



Series: To Shine Just A Little Light [1]
Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Billy Joel reference, Blitz is a good boyfriend, Blitzstone, Hearth has a break down, Hearth has self-esteem issues, Hearth is a sad cinnamon roll, I mean friend, M/M, Miscommunication, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:16:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8471725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snabulous/pseuds/Snabulous
Summary: Blitzen and Hearthstone start to make the transition of moving to a new apartment, and the two of them are on cloud nine. But then Hearth has a horrible misunderstanding that could result in his downfall.





	

The day was young, and Hearthstone was happy. Blitzen was within sight, whistling to himself (Hearth couldn't hear him, obviously, but he could see it) with a goofy smile on his face as he looked over a copy of the layout of his new store. He occasionally wrote things down on the paper, marking where things would stand and such. Hearth was supposed to be packing away books from the living room, but he couldn't help but be distracted by his friend's smile and, though he would never admit it even to himself, the way the charcoal colored slacks Blitz wore hugged his legs. It was mesmerizing.

Hearth was suddenly brought back to the real world when he noticed a hand waving for his attention from across the room. He had been staring off into space, contemplating the curvature of his friend's behind, and generally not being productive at all. _Come look_ , Blitz signed, pointing at the layout in front of him. Hearth unfolded his legs from underneath him and stood up. Blitzen was smiling at him as he walked closer, and he couldn't keep himself from copying. Not that he wanted to. But as he looked at the blueprints, the smile slid from his face, and suddenly his world was shattered.

Of course. He should have known it would end like this. Things had been going so well. Or, at least, he thought they were. He should have known, but he was _blinded_ by his complacency. He should have seen it before, but he was too distracted by how good he thought he had it to see when it was coming to an end. He was blind to what was clearly staring him in the face.

 _First deaf and now blind_ , Hearth thought bitterly. He fought to keep his hands at his side, so he wouldn't hit himself in the forehead over and over again. He didn't want Blitz to see him break down. But still, he said to himself unrelentingly, _Stupid, stupid, stupid. So stupid. Maximum stupid. Blind, stupid idiot that can't even_ \- 

Blitzen waved at Hearth again, a soft frown on his face, interrupting his thoughts. _You okay_? he signed. 

Hearth just nodded. He was suddenly grateful for his experience in controlling his expressions. He could rely on his features to not betray what he was feeling, just like normal. He glanced back down at the single-bedroom apartment layout in front of him, but averted his gaze when he couldn't breathe anymore. It was painful to look at it for too long.

Blitz didn't give in. _No you're not. What's wrong_?

Hearth's hands shook very slightly when he signed. _Nothing. Very much change. That's all._

But Blitz still looked concerned. Hearthstone had a really hard time lying to him when he had that face. He began to raise his hands to sign something, but Hearth moved forward and took them in his own, pleading with his eyes to just let it go. The two retained eye contact for a few tense seconds, but Hearth won out. Blitz sighed and stepped back, but Hearth didn't let go. "Fine," he said out loud, "We'll come back to this later. For now, we need to finish packing." 

Those words shot an arrow through his heart, but Hearth didn't reply. He just dropped Blitzen's hands and moved away, creating a space between them that all at once felt like too much and too little. He forced up a small smile, but it seemed to sting on his lips. Blitz gave no smile in return, instead gave just a sad, worried look. The false smile faded, and Hearth looked to the ground, inexplicably ashamed of himself.

* * * * * * *

Hearth found very quickly that there wasn't very much in Blitz's apartment. The amount of time it took to load and unload the boxes and get everything up the stairs in the back of what would soon become _Blitz's Best_ was much less than Hearthstone could bear. It was over in a flash, and the moment he was dreading was nearly upon him. He could feel it in the air. Hearth longed for the afternoon of the previous day. The two of them hadn't done much, but they were together. There was no impending loss hanging over his head, and he missed it.

He stood alone in the darkened main storeroom. He tried not to concentrate on the strong throw-up feeling in his mouth. Bile rose in his throat, but he was determined to _not be sick_. He lowered to his knees, pressed his flushed forehead on the cool tile floor, and covered the back of his neck with his hands. He breathed heavily, and berated himself endlessly, curled up there on the ground, never letting his mind wander from the absolute stupidity of who he was. He couldn't escape the thoughts in his head, and he wondered if this was what hearing Ratatosk was like. He cursed himself for being blind and stupid, his heart for beating too quickly, his throat for closing up and suffocating him, and especially his eyes for welling up with tears that he had to blink away to keep from losing control. Hearthstone closed his eyes and did his best to clear his mind.

He tried his best to not think about what he knew Blitz was going to tell him because it felt like death to Hearth.

 _Oh, gods_ , Hearth thought. _Help me, please._

_He's going to ask me to leave. No other explanation. One bedroom. It couldn't mean anything else. I'm going to have to leave. I should just go before he asks, so it's not awkward for him. Maybe it would hurt less too._

But, instead, everything hurt. It was then, in that dark, cool room, Hearth decided to take his leave.

Hearth went upstairs in a daze. Blitzen was sitting at the kitchen table, sketching something out on a notepad. Hearth announced himself by knocking on the wall and sniffling. The dark-skinned dwarf looked up, half-smiling at his friend. He looked content there, Hearth noted. He looked comfortable in this new setting. But then he saw Hearth and the look about him vanished. The smile was gone in an instant.

 _Hearth_ , he signed, almost frantically, _what's wrong?_

 _Nothing_ , Hearth replied instantly. He was painfully familiar with that response. _I need to go now._

Blitzen stood abruptly, taken aback. "What?" he exclaimed. He raised a hand, forming a sign similar to a D, and shook it side to side: _Where_?

Hearth didn't know how to reply. He shrugged and moved toward the door, but was blocked by his friend. Blitz signed, _Why are you leaving_?

 _I just have to_. Hearth looked back and forth between his friend and the door, but he knew he couldn't push past.

Blitz reached out and grabbed Hearth's arm, eyes wide. Imploringly, he asked again, _Why are you leaving_?

Hearthstone hesitated. _You... You were going to ask me to leave_ , he signed, not meeting Blitzen's eyes. _Less painful this way. Excuse me._ He moved again towards the door, but Blitz's grip on his arm tightened.

Blitz reached again and held Hearth's other arm, forcing him to look. His eyes were sad when Hearth finally looked at them. "I was never going to tell you to leave. Didn't even consider it." 

Hearthstone's heart stopped. For a moment, he just stood there, dumbfounded. _Only one bedroom_ , he managed to get out before Blitz took his hands gently. Hearth didn't struggle, even though the restraint was more than he could take right then. Blitz seemed to pick up on that and let them go, but he gave his friend a warning look when he began to raise them again.

 _Sorry_ , he signed first, glancing down at Hearth's hands. When he looked back up, he signed carefully, as if he was planning each word, _I don't want you to leave. You're my best friend and I need you here_. He paused. One side of his mouth quirked up. _I think Billy Joel said it best._

Hearth gave him a look. _I've never heard Billy Joel._

Blitz rolled his eyes and signed, _I know_. His smile widened a little. " _I need you in my house because you're my home_."

_You're my home. You're my home. You're my home._

"Wow, that was really cheesy," Blitz murmured, frowning and furrowing his brows. "It didn't sound like that in my head."

Hearth was extremely relieved. He could have cried for joy. A weight, a tremendous weight, was lifted from his chest. Trembling, he signed, _Thank you_. Hearth was smiling, _actually_ smiling. It was wide and toothy and almost painful on his cheeks. His heart was beating quickly and his lungs weren't working properly again, but this time he knew it was a good thing. And while he was generally adverse to excessive contact, he stepped forward and hugged his friend tightly, heart almost stopping when Blitzen hugged back. He was shaking with relief and happiness, he knew, and he couldn't control the stray tears that ran down his face, but he didn't really care.

When Hearth noticed there was a spot forming on Blitz's shirt where his rogue tears had fallen, he detached himself and stood back. His chest turned cold where Blitz had been and he missed that warmth immediately. He was still smiling. But despite his happiness, there was still a small, nagging question that lurked in his mind. _Where will I sleep_? he asked, tilting his blond head. _There's only one bedroom._

Blitz's face turned red (and quite red too, it was visible past even the dark tone of his skin) and looked away for a moment. With fumbling hands, he signed, _The two years we lived on the streets, we slept under bridges and in alleys together. I was going to ask you, but..._ He gestured vaguely at nothing in particular, but Hearth understood. Blitzen took a deep breath. _I thought maybe we would just continue that._ He paused, then added quickly, _Here. Not under a bridge. In the bedroom._

Again, Hearth was smiling. He seemed to be doing a lot of that. _That works_.

Blitz laughed, and it was a pretty sight. He suggested they go out to eat to commemorate their new home, and Hearth gladly agreed.

And so the dwarf and the elf went out to dinner, the words "you're my home" reverberating between them all the while.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is also posted on Wattpad under the name HigherMathematics.  
> (Title comes from You're My Home by Billy Joel.)


End file.
